Methods of forming earth-boring tools

ABSTRACT

A method of forming a cutting element for an earth-boring tool. The method includes providing diamond particles on a supporting substrate, the volume of diamond particles comprising a plurality of diamond nanoparticles. A catalyst-containing layer is provided on exposed surfaces of the volume of diamond nanoparticles and the supporting substrate. The diamond particles are processed under high temperature and high pressure conditions to form a sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact. A cutting element and an earth-boring tool including a cutting element are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/611,278, filed Sep. 12, 2012. This application also claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/536,443,filed Sep. 19, 2011, the disclosure of each of which is herebyincorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to methods of forming a cuttingelement for an earth-boring tool, to a related cutting element, and toan earth-boring tool including such a cutting element.

BACKGROUND

Earth-boring tools for forming wellbores in subterranean earthformations may include a plurality of cutting elements secured to abody. For example, fixed-cutter earth-boring rotary drill bits (“dragbits”) include a plurality of cutting elements that are fixedly attachedto a bit body of the drill bit. Similarly, roller cone earth-boringrotary drill bits may include cones that are mounted on bearing pinsextending from legs of a bit body such that each cone is capable ofrotating about the bearing pin on which it is mounted. A plurality ofcutting elements may be mounted to each cone of the drill bit.

The cutting elements used in such earth-boring tools often includepolycrystalline diamond compacts (“PDC”), which act as cutting faces ofa polycrystalline diamond (“PCD”) material. PCD material is materialthat includes inter-bonded grains or crystals of diamond material. Inother words, PCD material includes direct, inter-granular bonds betweenthe grains or crystals of diamond material. The terms “grain” and“crystal” are used synonymously and interchangeably herein.

PDC cutting elements are generally formed by sintering and bondingtogether relatively small diamond (synthetic, natural or a combination)grains, termed “grit,” under conditions of high temperature and highpressure in the presence of a catalyst (e.g., cobalt, iron, nickel, oralloys and mixtures thereof) to form a layer (e.g., a compact or“table”) of PCD material. These processes are often referred to as hightemperature/high pressure (or “HTHP”) processes. The supportingsubstrate may comprise a cermet material (i.e., a ceramic-metalcomposite material) such as, for example, cobalt-cemented tungstencarbide. In some instances, the PCD material may be formed on thecutting element, for example, during the HTHP process. In suchinstances, catalyst material (e.g., cobalt) in the supporting substratemay be “swept” into the diamond grains during sintering and serve as acatalyst material for forming the diamond table from the diamond grains.Powdered catalyst material may also be mixed with the diamond grainsprior to sintering the grains together in an HTHP process.

Upon formation of the diamond table using an HTHP process, catalystmaterial may remain in interstitial spaces between the inter-bondedgrains of the PDC. The presence of the catalyst material in the PDC maycontribute to thermal damage in the PDC when the PDC cutting element isheated during use due to friction at the contact point between thecutting element and the formation. Accordingly, the catalyst material(e.g., cobalt) may be leached out of the interstitial spaces using, forexample, an acid or combination of acids (e.g., aqua regia).Substantially all of the catalyst material may be removed from the PDC,or catalyst material may be removed from only a portion thereof, forexample, from a cutting face of the PDC, from a side of the PDC, orboth, to a desired depth. However, a fully leached PDC is relativelymore brittle and vulnerable to shear, compressive, and tensile stressesthan is a non-leached PDC. In addition, it is difficult to secure acompletely leached PDC to a supporting substrate.

To improve the thermal stability, the mechanical durability, and bondingcharacteristics of the PDC, nanoparticles (e.g., particles having anaverage particle diameter of about 500 nm or less) may be provided inthe interstitial spaces of the PDC. However, disadvantageously, ashigher concentrations of nanoparticles are incorporated into theinterstitial spaces the “sweep” of catalyst material from the supportingsubstrate during subsequent HTHP processing is inhibited, resulting in athe formation of a nanoparticle-enhanced (“nanoparticle-enhanced”) PDCthat may be poorly sintered at positions distal from an interface of thenanoparticle-enhanced PDC and the supporting substrate.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In some embodiments, the disclosure includes a method of forming acutting element for an earth-boring tool. Diamond particles may beprovided on a supporting substrate, the volume of diamond particlescomprising a plurality of diamond nanoparticles. A catalyst-containinglayer may be provided on exposed surfaces of the volume of diamondnanoparticles and the supporting substrate. The diamond particles may beprocessed under high temperature and high pressure conditions to form asintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact.

In additional embodiments, the disclosure includes a cutting element foruse in an earth-boring tool. The cutting element may comprise a sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact formed by a methodcomprising providing a volume of diamond particles on a supportingsubstrate, the volume of diamond particles comprising a plurality ofdiamond nanoparticles. The diamond particles may be processed under hightemperature and high pressure conditions to form a sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact. The diamond particles maybe processed under high temperature and high pressure conditions to formthe sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact.

In yet additional embodiments, the disclosure includes an earth-boringtool comprising a cutting element. The cutting element may comprise asintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact formed by amethod comprising providing a volume of diamond particles on asupporting substrate, the volume of diamond particles comprising aplurality of diamond nanoparticles. The diamond particles may beprocessed under high temperature and high pressure conditions to form asintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact. The diamondparticles may be processed under high temperature and high pressureconditions to form the sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystallinecompact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial cut-away perspective view of an embodiment of acutting element for an earth-boring tool, in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a simplified cross-sectional view illustrating how amicrostructure of the sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystallinecompact of the cutting element of FIG. 1 may appear under magnification;

FIG. 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a configuration that maybe used in a method of forming the cutting element of FIG. 1, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a configuration that maybe used in a method of forming the cutting element of FIG. 1, inaccordance with another embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a configuration that maybe used in a method of forming the cutting element of FIG. 1, inaccordance with yet another embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a fixed-cutterearth-boring rotary drill bit including cutting elements such as thatshown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The illustrations presented herein are, in some instances, not actualviews of any particular cutting element insert, cutting element, drillbit, system or method, but are merely idealized representations whichare employed to describe embodiments of the disclosure. Additionally,elements common between figures may retain the same numericaldesignation.

Embodiments of the disclosure include methods for forming a cuttingelement including a nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact, suchas a nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline diamond compact (“PDC”),along with related cutting elements, and earth-boring tools includingsuch cutting elements. The methods of the disclosure utilize at leastone catalyst material to form the polycrystalline compact.

As used herein, the term “inter-granular bond” means and includes anydirect atomic bond (e.g., covalent, metallic, etc.) between atoms inadjacent grains of hard material.

As used herein, the term “nanoparticle” means and includes any particlehaving an average particle diameter of about 500 nm or less.Nanoparticles include grains in a polycrystalline material having anaverage grain size of about 500 nm or less.

As used herein, the term “polycrystalline material” means and includesany material comprising a plurality of grains or crystals of thematerial that are bonded directly together by inter-granular bonds. Thecrystal structures of the individual grains of the material may berandomly oriented in space within the polycrystalline material.

As used herein, the term “nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact”means and includes any structure including a polycrystalline materialand plurality of nanoparticles, wherein the polycrystalline material isformed by a process that involves application of pressure (e.g.,compression) to a precursor material or materials used to form thepolycrystalline material.

As used herein, the term “catalyst material” refers to any material thatis capable of substantially catalyzing the formation of inter-granularbonds between grains of hard material during an HTHP but at leastcontributes to the degradation of the inter-granular bonds and granularmaterial under elevated temperatures, pressures, and other conditionsthat may be encountered in a drilling operation for forming a wellborein a subterranean formation. For example, catalyst materials for diamondinclude cobalt, iron, nickel, other elements from Group VIIIA of thePeriodic Table of the Elements, and alloys thereof.

As used herein, the term “hard material” means and includes any materialhaving a Knoop hardness value of about 3,000 Kg_(f)/mm² (29,420 MPa) ormore. Hard materials include, for example, diamond and cubic boronnitride.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cutting element 100, which may be formed inaccordance with embodiments of methods as disclosed herein. The cuttingelement 100 includes a sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystallinecompact 102B bonded to supporting substrate 104 at an interface 103. Thesintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B includes acutting surface 101. Although the cutting element 100 in the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 4 is cylindrical or disc-shaped, in other embodiments,the cutting element 100 may have any desirable shape, such as a dome,cone, or chisel.

Referring to FIG. 2, the sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystallinecompact 102B may include interspersed and inter-bonded grains that forma three-dimensional network of polycrystalline material. The grains ofthe sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B may havea multimodal grain size distribution. For example, the sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B may include largergrains 106 and smaller grains 108. Direct inter-granular bonds betweenthe larger grains 106 and the smaller grains 108 are represented in FIG.2 by dashed lines 110.

The larger grains 106 may be formed of and include a hard material(e.g., diamond, boron nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide,titanium carbide, tungsten carbide, tantalum carbide). The larger grains106 may be monodisperse, wherein all the larger grains 106 are ofsubstantially the same size, or may be polydisperse, wherein the largergrains 106 have a range of sizes and are averaged. The smaller grains108 may be nanoparticles formed of and including at least one of hardmaterial (e.g., diamond, boron nitride, silicon nitride, siliconcarbide, titanium carbide, tungsten carbide, tantalum carbide) andnon-hard material (e.g., carbides, ceramics, oxides, intermetallics,clays, minerals, glasses, elemental constituents, and various forms ofcarbon, such as carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, adamantanes, graphene, andamorphous carbon). The smaller grains 108 may be monodisperse, whereinall the smaller grains 108 are of substantially the same size, or may bepolydisperse, wherein the smaller grains 108 have a range of sizes andare averaged. The sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact102B may include from about 0.01% to about 99% by volume or weightsmaller grains 108, such as from about 0.01% to about 50% by volumesmaller grains 108, or from 0.1% to about 10% by weight smaller grains108.

Interstitial spaces 111 (shaded black in FIG. 2) are present between theinter-bonded larger grains 106 and smaller grains 108 of the sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B. The interstitialspaces 111 may be at least partially filled with a solid material, suchas at least one of a catalyst material (e.g., iron, cobalt, nickel, oran alloy thereof) and a carbon-free material. In at least someembodiments, the solid material of the interstitial spaces 111 may varythroughout a thickness of the sintered nanoparticle-enhancedpolycrystalline compact 102B. For example, the interstitial spaces 111proximate the interface 103 (FIG. 1) of the supporting substrate 104(FIG. 1) and the sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact102B may be filled with a first solid material (e.g., a catalystmaterial, such as cobalt) and the interstitial spaces 111 proximateexposed surfaces of the polycrystalline compact 102, such as the cuttingsurface 101 (FIG. 1), may be filled with a second solid material (e.g.,another catalyst material, such as nickel). At least some of theinterstitial spaces 111 may be filled with a combination of the firstsolid material and the second solid material. In additional embodiments,the interstitial spaces 111 may comprise empty voids within the sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B in which there is nosolid or liquid substance (although a gas, such as air, may be presentin the voids). Such empty voids may be formed by removing (e.g.,leaching) solid material out from the interstitial spaces 111 afterforming the sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B.In yet further embodiments, the interstitial spaces 111 may be at leastpartially filled with a solid substance in one or more regions of thesintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B, while theinterstitial spaces 111 in one or more other regions of the sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B comprise empty voids.

An embodiment of the disclosure will now be described with reference toFIG. 3, which illustrates a simplified cross-sectional view of aconfiguration that may be used in a method of forming the cuttingelement 100 (FIG. 1). A volume of diamond particles 102A may be providedon a supporting substrate 104 within a canister 118. The diamondparticles may include diamond nanoparticles, and the diamond particlesmay ultimately form the grains 106, 108 (FIG. 2) of diamond in aresulting nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B (FIG. 2) tobe formed by sintering the diamond particles 102A, as disclosedhereinbelow. A catalyst-containing layer 112 may be provided adjacentthe volume of diamond particles 102A, as shown in FIG. 3. In someembodiments, the catalyst-containing layer 112 may also extend over oneor more surfaces of the substrate 104.

As shown in FIG. 3, the canister 118 may encapsulate the diamondparticles 102A, the supporting substrate 104, and thecatalyst-containing layer 112. The canister may include an inner cup120, in which at least a portion of each of the diamond particles 102A,the supporting substrate 104, and the catalyst-containing layer 112 mayeach be disposed. The canister 118 may further include a top end piece122 and a bottom end piece 124, which may be assembled and bondedtogether (e.g., swage bonded) around the inner cup 120 with the diamondparticles 102A, the supporting substrate 104, and thecatalyst-containing layer 112 therein. The sealed canister 118 then maybe subjected to an HTHP process to sinter the diamond particles 102A andform the nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B of thecutting element 100 (FIG. 1).

The supporting substrate 104 may include a material that is relativelyhard and resistant to wear. By way of non-limiting example, thesupporting substrate 104 may include a cemented carbide material, suchas a cemented tungsten carbide material, in which tungsten carbideparticles are cemented together in a metallic binder material. Themetallic binder material may include, for example, catalyst materialsuch as cobalt, nickel, iron, or alloys and mixtures thereof. Themetallic binder material may be capable of catalyzing inter-granularbonds between the diamond particles 102A, as described in further detailbelow. In at least some embodiments, the supporting substrate 104includes a cobalt-cemented tungsten carbide material.

The catalyst-containing layer 112 may include plurality of particles 114comprising a catalyst material. The catalyst material may be anymaterial capable of catalyzing inter-granular bonds between the unbondednanoparticles and the inter-bonded larger grains 106 in the diamondparticles 102A. As non-limiting examples, the catalyst material maycomprise one or more of silicon, cobalt, iron, nickel, or an alloy ormixture thereof. By way of non-limiting example, the catalyst-containinglayer 112 may comprise a layer of cobalt-cemented tungsten carbideparticles, or a substantially solid layer of cobalt-cemented tungstencarbide material. The catalyst material in the catalyst-containing layer112 may be the same as or different than a catalyst (e.g., cobalt or acobalt alloy) in the supporting substrate 104. By way of non-limitingexample, the catalyst material in the catalyst-containing layer 112 maybe Ni, and the catalyst material in the substrate 104 may be Co. Thecatalyst-containing layer 112 may, optionally, also include anon-diamond carbon material such as graphite. The non-diamond carbonmaterial may increase the amount of catalyst material that infiltratesor permeates the diamond particles 102A during HTHP processing (e.g.,sintering) by pre-saturating the catalyst material with carbon.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, during subsequent HTHP processing,the catalyst material of the catalyst-containing layer 112 and catalystmaterial in the supporting substrate 104 may infiltrate or permeate thediamond particles 102A in the directions represented by directionalarrows 116 in FIG. 3. The HTHP processing may enable inter-granularbonding between the unbonded diamond particles 102A to form the sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B (FIG. 1) includingthe inter-bonded smaller grains 108 (FIG. 2) and larger grains 106.

The presence of the nanoparticles in the unbonded diamond particles 102Amay impede the infiltration of catalyst material through an entirety ofthe unbonded diamond particles 102A solely from the substrate 104 in anHTHP process. Thus, in an effort to allow adequate infiltration ofcatalyst material through the entirety of the volume of the unbondeddiamond particles 102A, the catalyst-containing layer 112 is providedadjacent the volume of the diamond particles 102A on one or more sidesthereof that are not adjacent the substrate 104 so as to alloy catalystto infiltrate into the diamond particles 102A from more than one side ofthe volume of diamond particles 102A.

Another embodiment of the disclosure will now be described withreference to FIG. 4, which illustrates a simplified cross-sectional viewof a configuration that may be used in method of forming the cuttingelement 100 (FIG. 1). Diamond particles 102A may be provided onsupporting substrate 104 within the canister 118 (FIG. 3). A firstcatalyst-containing layer 126 may be provided on exposed surfaces of thediamond particles 102A and on at least a portion of exposed surfaces(e.g., exposed side surfaces) of the supporting substrate 104. A secondcatalyst-containing layer 128 may be provided on exposed surfaces of thefirst catalyst-containing layer 126 and on remaining exposed surfaces ofthe supporting substrate 104.

The second catalyst-containing layer 128 may be substantially similar tothe catalyst-containing layer 112 (FIG. 3) described above. The firstcatalyst-containing layer 126 may be a solid layer, such as a film,sheet, or mesh. The first catalyst-containing layer 126 may include acatalyst material as described above that is capable of catalyzinginter-granular bonding between the unbonded diamond particles 102A. Thecatalyst material of the first catalyst-containing layer 126 may thesame as or different than each of a catalyst material in the supportingsubstrate 104 and catalyst material of the second catalyst-containinglayer 128. As shown in FIG. 4, the first catalyst-containing layer 126may cover exposed surfaces of the volume of diamond particles 102A andmay extend to cover a portion of exposed side surfaces of the supportingsubstrate 104 proximate the interface 103 of the diamond particles 102Aand the supporting substrate 104. In additional embodiments, the firstcatalyst-containing layer 126 may cover more or less of the exposedsurfaces of the supporting substrate 104. For example, the firstcatalyst-containing layer 126 may at least substantially cover theexposed side surfaces of the supporting substrate 104. In furtherembodiments, the first catalyst-containing layer 126 may cover more orless of the volume of diamond particles 102A. For example, at least aportion of side surfaces of the volume of diamond particles 102A may beleft uncovered by the first catalyst-containing layer 126.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, during subsequent HTHP processing,the catalyst material of the first catalyst-containing layer 126, thecatalyst material of the second catalyst-containing layer 128, andcatalyst material (e.g., metal binder) in the supporting substrate 104may infiltrate or permeate the diamond particles 102A as represented bydirectional arrows 116. The HTHP processing may enable inter-granularbonding between the diamond particles 102A to form the sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B (FIG. 1) includingthe inter-bonded smaller grains 108 (FIG. 2) and larger grains 106.

Yet another embodiment of the disclosure will now be described withreference to FIG. 5, which illustrates a simplified cross-sectional viewof a configuration that may be used in method of forming the cuttingelement 100 (FIG. 1). Diamond particles 102A may be provided onsupporting substrate 104 within the canister 118 (FIG. 3). Acatalyst-containing layer 130 may be provided on exposed surfaces of thevolume of diamond particles 102A and on at least a portion of exposedsurfaces of the supporting substrate 104. A non-catalyst-containinglayer 132 may, optionally, be provided on remaining exposed surfaces(e.g., exposed side surfaces) of the supporting substrate 104.

The catalyst-containing layer 130 may be substantially similar to thefirst catalyst-containing layer 126 (FIG. 4) described above. Thenon-catalyst-containing layer 132, if provided, may be a solidnon-particulate layer, such as a film, sheet, or mesh. Thenon-catalyst-containing layer 132 may include a non-catalyst material,such as carbides, ceramics, oxides, intermetallics, clays, minerals,glasses, elemental constituents, and various forms of carbon (e.g.,carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, adamantanes, graphene, and amorphouscarbon). A thickness of the non-catalyst-containing layer 132 may besubstantially the same as a thickness of the catalyst-containing layer130. As shown in FIG. 5, the non-catalyst-containing layer 132 may covera portion of exposed side surfaces of the supporting substrate 104 notcovered by the catalyst-containing layer 130. In additional embodiments,the non-catalyst-containing layer 132 may cover more or less of theexposed surfaces of the supporting substrate 104. For example, thenon-catalyst-containing layer 132 may at least substantially cover theexposed side surfaces of the supporting substrate 104 (e.g., when thecatalyst-containing layer 130 covers less of the exposed side surfacesof the supporting substrate 104, or when the catalyst-containing layer130 covers no portion of the exposed side surfaces of the supportingsubstrate 104). In further embodiments, the non-catalyst-containinglayer 132 may cover at least a portion of the volume of diamondparticles 102A.

With continued reference to FIG. 5, during subsequent HTHP processing,catalyst material of the catalyst-containing layer 130 and catalystmaterial in the supporting substrate 104 may infiltrate or permeate thediamond particles 102A as represented by directional arrows 116. TheHTHP processing may enable inter-granular bonding between the diamondparticles 102A to form the sintered nanoparticle-enhancedpolycrystalline compact 102B (FIG. 1) including the inter-bonded smallergrains 108 (FIG. 2) and larger grains 106.

In additional embodiments, the diamond particles 102A may be replacedwith previously formed nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact(similar to the compact 102B) in which catalyst material has previouslybeen removed (e.g., leached) from interstitial spaces between thediamond grains therein, and which is desired to be bonded to thesubstrate 104 in an HTHP process. Such processes are often referred toin the art as “re-attach” processes.

Embodiments of cutting elements 100 (FIG. 1) that include sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B (FIG. 1) as describedherein may be secured to an earth-boring tool and used to removesubterranean formation material in accordance with additionalembodiments of the present. The earth-boring tool may, for example, be arotary drill bit, a percussion bit, a coring bit, an eccentric bit, areamer tool, a milling tool, etc. As a non-limiting example, FIG. 6illustrates a fixed-cutter type earth-boring rotary drill bit 140 thatincludes a plurality of cutting elements 100 (FIG. 1), each of whichincludes a sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B(FIG. 1), as previously described herein. The rotary drill bit 140includes a bit body 142, and the cutting elements 100, which include thesintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact 102B, are bondedto the bit body 142. The cutting elements 100 may be brazed, welded, orotherwise secured, within pockets formed in the outer surface of the bitbody 142.

Advantageously, as compared to previously known processes, the methodsof the disclosure enable catalyst material to infiltrate or permeate alarger volume of diamond particles 102A that include diamondnanoparticles during HTHP processing. As a result, the methods of thedisclosure may be used to form cutting elements 100 including sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compacts 102B more rapidly anduniformly, improving production efficiency and increasing the quality ofthe cutting elements 100 produced.

While the disclosure has been described herein with respect to certainexample embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognizeand appreciate that it is not so limited. Rather, many additions,deletions and modifications to the embodiments described herein may bemade without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafterclaimed. In addition, features from one embodiment may be combined withfeatures of another embodiment while still being encompassed within thescope of the invention as contemplated by the inventor. Further, theinvention has utility in drill bits having different bit profiles aswell as different cutter types.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming an earth-boring tool,comprising: forming a catalyst-containing material on each of a top andsides of a diamond material discrete from the catalyst-containingmaterial, the diamond material comprising diamond nanoparticles;processing the diamond material under high temperature and high pressureconditions to form a sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystallinecompact; and attaching the sintered nanoparticle-enhancedpolycrystalline compact to a bit body.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising selecting the catalyst-containing material to compriseparticles comprising at least one catalyst material.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising selecting the catalyst-containing materialto comprise a solid structure comprising at least one catalyst material.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting thecatalyst-containing material to comprise one or more of cobalt, iron,and nickel.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting thecatalyst-containing material to comprise cemented tungsten carbide. 6.The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting thecatalyst-containing material to comprise at least one catalyst materialand at least one non-diamond carbon material.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising depositing the diamond material on a supportingsubstrate prior to forming the catalyst-containing material on each ofthe top and the sides of the diamond material.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising selecting the catalyst-containing material tocomprise at least one catalyst material different than at least oneother catalyst material of the supporting substrate.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein selecting the catalyst-containing material to compriseat least one catalyst material different than at least one othercatalyst material of the supporting substrate comprises: selecting theat least one catalyst material to comprise one or more of cobalt, iron,and nickel; and selecting the at least one other catalyst material ofthe supporting substrate to comprise one or more of cobalt, iron, andnickel.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein attaching the sinterednanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact to a bit body comprisessecuring the supporting substrate within a pocket in an outer surface ofthe bit body.
 11. A method of forming an earth-boring tool, comprising:forming a catalyst-containing material on exposed surfaces of a diamondmaterial discrete from the catalyst-containing material, the diamondmaterial comprising diamond nanoparticles; forming anothercatalyst-containing material on the catalyst-containing material;subjecting the diamond material to a high temperature and high pressureprocess to form a sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystallinecompact; and securing the sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystallinecompact to a bit body.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:selecting the catalyst-containing material to comprise a solid structureselected from the group consisting of a film, a sheet, and a mesh; andselecting the another catalyst-containing material to comprise aplurality of particles.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprisingselecting the catalyst-containing material and the anothercatalyst-containing material to comprise different catalyst materials.14. The method of claim 11, further comprising forming the diamondmaterial on a supporting substrate prior to forming thecatalyst-containing material on the exposed surfaces of the diamondmaterial.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein forming acatalyst-containing material on exposed surfaces of a diamond materialcomprises forming the catalyst-containing material on the exposedsurfaces of the diamond material and on exposed surfaces of thesupporting substrate.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprisingselecting two or more of the supporting substrate, thecatalyst-containing material, and the another catalyst-containingmaterial to comprise the same catalyst material.
 17. A method of formingan earth-boring tool, comprising: depositing a diamond material on asupporting substrate, the diamond material comprising diamondnanoparticles; depositing a catalyst-containing material on exposedsurfaces of the diamond material and on a portion of exposed sidesurfaces of the supporting substrate; subjecting the diamond material,the catalyst-containing material, and the supporting substrate to hightemperature and high pressure conditions to form a cutting elementcomprising a sintered nanoparticle-enhanced polycrystalline compact; andattaching the cutting element to a bit body.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising providing another catalyst-containing material on thecatalyst-containing material and on remaining portions of the exposedside surfaces of the supporting substrate.
 19. The method of claim 17,further comprising providing a non-catalyst-containing material onremaining portions of the exposed side surfaces of the supportingsubstrate.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising selecting thenon-catalyst-containing material to comprise one or more of a ceramic, acarbide, an oxide, an intermetallic, a clay, a mineral, a glass, carbonnanotubes, fullerene, adamantane, graphene, and amorphous carbon.